Saturday, September 23, 2006
Movie Reviews: ALL THE KING'S MEN
In theaters
ALL THE KING'S MEN
Louisiana governor Willie Stark (Sean Penn) wins his office by appealing to the common man and playing a little bit of dirty politics. But as he gains more and more power, Stark slowly becomes corrupted by the system he sought to change.
Cast Sean Penn, Jude Law, Patricia Clarkson, Kate Winslet, Kathy Baker, Talia Balsam (more)
Director(s) Steven Zallian
Writer(s) Steven Zaillian
Status In theaters (wide)
Genre(s) Dramas, Theatrical Release, Based On A Novel
Release Date Sept. 22, 2006
Running Time 120 minutes
MPAA Rating PG-13 - for an intense sequence of violence, sexual content and partial nudity.
Review:
All the King's Men feels like it should be a top caliber Oscar worthy movie. It has an all star cast and heavy subject matter. For some reason though it just doesn't work. The movie feels overly pompous and has a need to remind us, mostly through overly dramatic music, that it is in fact an important movie. Most of the movies points are beat into the audiences head so much so that there is very little thought required to watch or understand. The acting is all over the place. Some actors have incredibly heavy accents while others, like Kate Winslet and Anthony Hopkins, have none whatsoever. Jude Law's southern accent is extremely difficult to buy, he just doesn't pull of the southern speak at all. Sean Penn's Willie Stark comes off more as a raving mad man/mentally disabled person than a charismatic firebrand. The movies direction is sporadic and spoon feeds the audience instead of trusting the audience's intelligence. The movie moves along a predictable pace and the "twist" are terribly obvious. Sadly, this movie is just a mess and ultimately a waste of talent.
D-
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